Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

GazerRise Fantastic!

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Prismark10 I looked forward to Quirke with Gabriel Byrne back in the British small screen after his foray to Hollywood. In Quirke he is an alcoholic pathologist in 1950s Dublin. Quirke has been adopted by the wealthy Griffin family. His adopted father is played by Michael Gambon.The family itself has hidden secrets, Quirke's own daughter has been raised by his brother when Quirke's wife died. However Quirke has also been carrying on with his brother's wife.In the three films atmospherically shot in a low budget television way, we have Quirke probing into babies being adopted out by the church, or a wide boy taking saucy pictures of married women and using them to blackmail their husbands and the final film is on the hunt of a missing girl who might have had an abortion.The film meshes dark secrets in a 1950s Dublin where the Roman Catholic church has an overbearing influence.However the final product was poor. The first film had sound issues and the films were just dull with a mundane script, predictable characterisation and badly directed. In fact they looked like television dramas from 20 years ago and forgotten that filming techniques have moved on.The series reminded me of Inspector George Gently especially with its period drama setting and the changing social scene of the 1960s north east England but Gently is miles ahead in entertainment value and production values, ironic as the early films were shot in the Republic of Ireland.Quirke is disappointing and a disappointment.

Joe Soap Beautifully shot and atmospheric, though the dark scenes get a bit tedious, good acting all round but the characters are wooden. The script is banal, nobody says anything insightful or cute. Inappropriate responses. In episode two the intimidation and murder in the first episode seems to be forgotten. The continuity is terrible you keep wondering "who is this character now", new characters pop into the episodes fully formed and you're sure you must have missed something previously. This all comes from trying to be too clever. And his daughter's assertion on finding out he's her dad "but I loved you Quirke" just dropped like a lead balloon. Really disappointing.

theredmare Another top notch offering from the BBC. (2 episodes in) Wonderful, atmospheric settings and unusually artistic cinematography, a gripping back story and marvellous, marvellous acting. A very good insight into life in Ireland in the 50's also.Quirke, the outstanding Gabriel Byrne in one of his better efforts ever, is an alcoholic pathologist in Dublin in the 1950's. Quirke, an orphan of unknown parents, was adopted into the wealthy Griffin family. A family where not is all what it seems, and where people love and hate each other at the same time, and harbour secrets, some of them quite terrible. (like a lot of real families). While Quirke tries to help find out what happened to bodies who used to be people with the help of a jaded garda inspector, we unravel his past life episode by episode, and watch his life unravel as well.It is compelling stuff, I can only highly recommend it. Preferably from the start. While produced by the BBC, it's an all irish cast and location. It looks a million dollar, it's original, the characters are interestingly complex, and it's just very, very good.It feels very much like the Maigret series with Bruno Cremer, only better (!). Note that the solving of the mystery is only a part of the drama, most of it revolves on the interplay of the family, their problems and their secrets, and the telling of life in a Ireland 60 years ago, with its obedience to the catholic church, treatment of women etc...therefore you can enjoy it even if you aren't fond of murder mysteries. It is nearly an anticlimax to come to the end and have the murder solved (sometimes rather too conveniently - hence the 9 instead of 10 - very small complaint) , so engrossed are you in the actual story in its entirety - you want it to go on!Do not expect CSI or NCIS, it is as far removed from those shows as possible.I did not read the books, so that I have no idea how accurate is the adaptation, but I can guarantee the story is perfectly clear and simple to follow, unlike some adaptations that require former knowledge of the written medium to understand anything at all.I also highly recommend it in HD with a good sound system. The terrific atmosphere deserves that.Contains smoking and drinking. [;-)]Edit: Episode 3 is a straight 10/10. Very emotional, and even improved from the other two on all fronts, if that was possible. Classic television in the making. - I just read the first two episodes were adapted by Welsh screenwriter Andrew Davies and the third by Irish playwright/director Conor McPherson. Now it makes sense and it actually shows.

sluggr-2 I kept watching, just hoping it would get better. Three A-list principals, it just has to be good, right? IMHO, the writing was on par with a Quincey MD episode, the acting was either forced or flat, and the writing, editing, and directing abrupt. Just because it had the atmosphere of Foyle's War or The Bletchley Circle did not make it so. Glamour and style do not make up for a lack of substance. There were so many blatantly obvious hints about the "event which might be considered by some a twist" that by the time it arrived all I could say was "well duh-UH!" In fact, twist is too strong a term, as is reveal. Think of this as being on the opposite end of the spectrum from an Inspector Morse.